Bill-holder



(No Model.)

A. H. DANIELS & A. B. ROWELL. jaILL HOLDER.

No. 367,274. Patented July 26, 1 887.

' pertains to make and use the same. 7

This invention relates to an improvement in iJNiTE STATES PATENT OF ICE.

ALBERT H. DANIELS AND ALMON B. owELL, OF MANCHESTER, NEW

nAMPsn EE. v I

BILL-HOLDER.

SPECIIjICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 367,274, dated July 26, 1887.

Applica'ion filcd Dccenibtr 17, 1896. 7 Serial No. 221,585. (No model.)

To (LZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, ALBERT H. DANIELS and ALMON B. RoWELL, citizens of the United States, residing at Manchester, in the county of Hillsborough and State of New Hampshire, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bill-Holders; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and eX- act description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it apbill or paper holders, the object thereof being to provide a holder or file which will not loosen its grasp-upon the papers already contained within it while additional ones are being inserted; and the invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, substantially as will be hereinafter described and claimed In the annexed drawings, illustrating our invention, Figure 1 is a front elevation of our improved bill-holder or file in its suspended position, and shows the arrangement ofpapers in the file. Fig. 2is a side elevation of the same with no papers placed therein. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section showing the disposition of the parts when papers are being inserted, and at the beginning of the insertion. Fig. 4 is a similar section showing a paper or bill when about to take the position which it permanently occupies when in the holderpand Fig. 5 is a section showing the position of the parts when papers are being removed.

Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts throughout the several figures.

A represents the base or bottom board of theholder,which isperforated in its upper portion or otherwise suitably constructed to'adapt it to be hung upon a wall or other support.

The base A, andconsequently the parts carried thercby,-Inay be hung vertically against the supporting object or may rest horizontally upon it, accordingly as either location best suits the convenience'of the user. In the drawings we have assumed that the holder is hung vertically against its support. v

The devices for securely holding papers, bills, letters, cards, memoranda, and other slips against the base-board consist, essentially, of two parallel holder-bars arranged across the I face of said board and novaole laterally to- .A is provided with a broad shallow groove, a,

which at certain times during the operation of placing papers within our improved file serves to receive the upper holder-bar, O. The holder-bar G is formed with an inclined face, which presents itself toward the bar B, the lower edge of bar 0 being made sharp in consequence of this construction.

E E designate curved arms or levers,which are pivotally connected ncar their middle points to the opposite ends of the holder-bar G. The upper ends of the arms E E are connccted together by a cross-piece, F, which serves as a handle, while the lower portions of said arms are-provided with curved slots 6, which inclose projecting pins b on the endsof the holder-bar B: Further, there are links or braces G G, arranged near each vertical edge of the board A,'which are pivotally connected with the ends of the bar 0, the same projec tions, screws, or pins, 0 c, on said bar serving as pivots for the curved arms and for the links. The lower ends of the links are pivoted to suitable projections, as d, on the board A. A

short wire spring, is, fastened to the bar 0 and passed through aperforation in one of the side arms, E, serves to keep the bar 0 from being displaced from its true relative position.

The operation of placing papers, &c., in a bill holder or file thus constructed is as follows: Suppose the parts of the device to be in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, with the edge of holder Oresting in the groove a,slight ly below the surface of the board. desired to place a paper in the holder, the user will grasp the handle F and press it toward the board A. The pivots c cwill serve as fulcra for the arms E E, which will now act as levers to raise the bar B from the board by \Vhen it is ICO overcoming the elastic force of the springs D D. The letter or paper may now be placed between the bar 13 and the board and pushed upward until its upper end rides up the in clined face of bar O,and is limited in its movement by some suitable stop, as H, which is fastened to the board. (See Fig. 3.) If, now, the pressure on the handle F be relaxed, the bar B will be returned close to the board, thus binding the inserted paper tightly between itself and the board, and as the handle falls or is moved downward, as shown in Fig. at, that portion of the letter which rested on the inclined face of bar 0 will be permitted to fly behind said bar and between it and the board. \Vhen the handle descends, the arms E Ewill obviously move, so that the pins 1) b will be placed in the ends of the curved slots opposite what they were before, as shown in Fig. 5. \Vhcn it is desired to insert another slip, the handle will again be lifted to the position shown in Fig. 1 and again pressed toward the board A. This time the bar 0, upon whose ends are the fulcra for the levers E IE, will bear upon the previously-inserted paper or papers while the bar B is being raised for the admission of thenext. Therefore papers can never slip from the file while others are being placed in it.

When the user desires to remove papers, he simply throws the handle downward, if it be not down already, and continuing the downward pressure thereupon, as seen in Fig. 5, causes the bar B to be drawn away from the board. The bar C being already at a distance from the board, neither of the holder-bars can exert any retaining-pressure upon the papers, and they may be freely removed. The papers can be returned in a bunch to the holder by lifting the bars in the same manner as required to remove them.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is-

1. In a bill holder, two parallel holder-bars connected and arranged together, and in combination with a base-board, spring-rods, and operating-handle, so that the papers may be held firmly at all times, those previously inserted being held securely during the addition of others, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the base-board, the lower holder-bar, the springs whereby said bar is supported and forced against the face of the board, the upper holder-bar, the curved levers pivoted to the upper bar and slotted to embrace projecting pins on the lower bar, and the connecting-handle between the levers, all arranged and operated substantially as shown and described.

3. The combination of the base-board, the lower holder-bar carried by spring-rods secured to said board, the upper holder-bar having the face adjacent to the lower bar inclined, the curved levers pivoted to the upper bar and slotted to embrace projecting pins on the lower bar, and the bracing-links pivoted at one end to the extremities of the upper bar and at the lower end upon the baseboard, substantially as described.

4. The combination of the base-board having a projecting stop and a transverse groove, the inclined-faced upper holder-bar adapted to rest its lower edge in said groove, thelower holder-bar held by springs against the face of the board, the slotted and curved connectinglevers, and the operating-handle, substantially as shown and described.

5. The combination of the base-board, the lower holder-bar held against the face of the board by springs, and the arms or levers pivotally connected with the extremities of the upper bar, and likewise with the extremities of the lower bar, substantially as described.

6. The combination of the baseboard, the lower holder-bar carried by springs secured to said board, the upper holder-bar, the slotted and pivoted connecting-levers, the operating handle, and the pivoted bracing-links, all arranged substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT H. DANIELS. ALMON B. RO\VELL.

\Vituesses:

D. ARTHUR TAGGART, ARTHUR H. HALES. 

